He takes over from Dr. Glenn Bartlett, who, since September 2017, has been interim CEO of the system, which operates Brantford General Hospital and the Willett urgent care clinic in Paris.

“We’re fortunate to recruit someone of David’s experience and calibre,” Bonnie Adamson, the provincially appointed supervisor of the system, said in a statement released Wednesday.

“David brings more than 20 years of executive level experience in hospital and community-based health care and administration and also has extensive front-line healthcare experiences as a registered nurse, all of which will serve him well at BCHS.”

At present, McNeil is the senior vice-president for patient experience and digital transformation at Health Sciences North in Sudbury.

At Health Science North, McNeil worked with staff, physicians and volunteers to oversee the transformation of the clinical organization that resulted in improvements in access to care, increases in the range and scope of services available and improvements to the overall efficiency and quality of the hospital. Health Sciences North is a regional hospital serving a diverse population of more than 500,000 people

A graduate of the nursing program at Laurentian University, McNeil earned his master’s degree in health administration at the University of Ottawa and his Ph.D. in rural and northern health at Laurentian.

McNeil joined Health Sciences North as a nurse in 1990 and worked in the Indigenous community of Attawapiskat. He is a adjunct professor at Laurentian’s nursing school and chaired the boards of Cambrian College and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario.

As well, McNeil served on the board of the Canadian Nurses’ Association.

“I’m honoured and excited about the opportunity to lead BCHS,” McNeil said in a statement.

“I look forward to meeting the staff, physicians, volunteers, patient and family representatives, as well as the broader community.

“Together, we will set the priorities and directions for BCHS and the people we serve.”

Adamson was appointed provincial supervisor in September 2017 by then health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins after a investigator’s report found there was an “unacceptable failure in both governance and executive leadership,” at BCHS.

Among other things, the investigation found the system failed to balance its budget in four consecutive years starting in 2013-14.

Following Adamson’s appointment, Jim Hornell, the president and CEO, was relieved of his duties and the system’s board of directors was dissolved.

As provincial supervisor, Adamson has the authority to exercise all powers of the corporation, hospital board and its officers. She hired Bartlett to serve as the interim CEO.

The hiring of McNeil is seen as another step along the process of returning the system to a more normal state following a year of correction and transition.

Efforts to create a new board of directors are underway.

BCHS officials expect to have a new board in place by the end of 2018.